weather

Sunrise was gorgeous this morning in North Phoenix, but we won’t be seeing much of our favorite star over the next few days. As Hurricane Rosa’s remnants blow into the Valley, rain is expected to begin later today or tonight.

Hurricane Rosa has made the northward turn that will eventually bring the storm to Arizona. The forecast continues to call for 2-3 inches of rain in North Phoenix, and a Flash Flood Watch is in effect for Monday and Tuesday.

Whereas monsoon storms can be isolated, capricious and violent, Rosa’s remains will be more zombie-like: longer, slower, persistent. North Phoenix could get an inch or more of rain between Sunday night and Thursday.

The remnants of several hurricanes and tropical storms have struck Arizona, in a few cases catastrophically. In 1970, a tropical system killed 23 people in the state. See 9 of the most notable tropical systems that affected Phoenix.

With August only half over, many gauges in the region are approaching or exceeding seasonal norms. And yet, the fickle monsoon storms have left some spots well below average. See the totals for Norterra, Sonoran Foothills, Tramonto, Anthem, New River and Desert Hills.

The monsoon pulled its usual tricks this week, dumping here, dancing around there. Even within NoPho—the I-17 corridor from Norterra to New River—there was notable disparity between rainfall totals. Click to see what fell where.

Between noon yesterday and midnight, 38,194 cloud-to-cloud lightning flashes were observed across the Valley, with nearly 6,000 cloud-to-ground strikes, according to the National Weather Service. Many parts of the Valley saw heavy downpours. But not NoPho.

Trees were uprooted in Anthem and much of the region saw strong winds and blowing dust. But rain gauges from Norterra through Sonoran Foothills into Tramonto and Anthem recorded some of the lowest totals in the entire Valley.